[SB META PRP] Jewel (Don, Galning, Joya)

[Princess_Feylin]

Joya

Joya was in a foul mood. This wasn't significantly different from her usual state of existence, except that when her mood turned foul it wasn't just her sharp tongue people had to watch out for. There were frequently claws involved, too, and sometimes even teeth. She wasn't as prone to violence as her favorite sibling, Teech, who was better known throughout the pride as Blackbeard, but she could be vicious.

What had her angry right now was that some other corsair b***h had stolen one of her trinkets and then when confronted about it flung it out of the pride entirely. At the time Joya had feigned indifference to the loss of the item, refusing to admit that she valued it at all, but later she had come back to look for it. It had been a gift to her from Teech and she prized it more than any other gift she'd been given. She had been looking for the damn thing for hours now, and her temper was just about shot. Jungle terrain was horrible for trying to find lost objects.

Galning

Galning was trying hard not to feel miffed that Ru had very clearly placed Don in charge of this mission. True, it was a very important mission and Ru had said that in matters of camouflage Don ought to defer to Galning's judgment, but the fact was that Don was still in charge and Galning was not. It was most unfair.

"So, what's the plan, boss?" Galning asked.

He actually knew the plan, at least as much as Don had outlined when he told him about the assignment Ru had given them, but he wanted to hear it again. He was absolutely convinced that he would be able to find some flaw in it that he could point out and fix, thereby proving himself more apt to lead in the future.

Jovi of Shadows

 

[Jovi of Shadows]

"You know the plan", Don replyed evenly, having already explained it to Galning before. If he was annoyed he wasn't showing it, for his focus was on something else entirely. They were nearing the pirate pride, and soon they would get to rip their claws into the pelts of these pathetic excuses of lions. There was no need to distract himself with other issues, and he expected Galning would shape up as soon as he was able to let loose on the pirates.

They stepped around the base of a thick tree, large bushes and a fallen log obscuring the bodies of the pair of viking raiders. Don's eyes flashed as they were drawn to the side, something dark and red, not of the forest. Ah.

He pulled back, stopping, gesturing with a jerk of his head in the direction of the lioness. They were close to pirate territory now, it was likely but not certain that she may be one of them. It didn't matter. There could be no early witnesses that might run off to alert the whole pride of their coming. In a low voice only Galning could hear he said, "Your move, grab her attention any way you like, I'll circle behind to flank." Perhaps being given the forward attack would help ease Galning of his leadership issues, but Don wasn't willing to go much further out of his way to do so if it did not.

Princess_Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Galning

It took Galning a bit longer to notice the lioness Don had seen right away, even after Don pointed her out to him. When he finally noticed the lioness and after hearing Don's instructions, he nodded so briskly you could almost hear him saying "Affirmative!" even though he didn't actually speak aloud at all.

Although he could be very enthusiastic when it came to acting the part of a soldier on a mission, Galning was really not a very good subordinate. He was a berserker, and the best way to employ those was typically to get them mad, point them in the direction of a clump of enemy warriors, and stand back. Choosing him for a stealth mission was an unusual decision on Ru's part, but the captain had been hoping Galning would make use of some of his other skills, like buffoonery, to blend in with the pirates should they be caught. Not that Galning realized it was his tendency to behave like a moron that made Ru think he would be better at blending in with pirates.

Think pirate, Galning told himself before he jumped on top of the fallen log and struck a comically heroic pose.

"Never fear, Skremmen...er...Screaming Vengeance is here! Arrgh!" Oops. He'd almost used the distinctly Stormborn-sounding name he'd been given shortly after joining the pride.

Joya

Joya looked up from her close scrutiny of the jungle floor when a black and green spotted lion with a blindingly white mane bounded onto a log, seemingly from nowhere, and assured her unnecessarily that she had no need to fear.

"What, exactly, am I supposed to be afraid of?" she asked, looking up at him with an expression that walked a line between amusement and arousal. Her mood was still not good, but the prospect of ruining some stupid stranger's day was making her perk up a little. Certainly enough that she was willing to play nice until he fell into her trap. Making others miserable was always a salve to whatever ailed her.

She took a few slinking steps in his direction. "Surely not you."

Jovi of Shadows

 

[Jovi of Shadows]

Princess_Feylin

((Bah! Sorry for the delay, planning for a wedding takes up more time then I thought it would. xD ))

That almost got a smirk from Don. Almost. His focus was held by the lioness he was slowly circling, making sure to keep himself hidden and quiet. Don had lived a loner's life before his time with the Stormborn, and as such had done his own hunting. Stalking prey came easily to him now, and that's exactly what she was to him. Prey. And as far as Don was concerned, her luck had just run out.

For all of Galning's pain in the a**'ishness, Don had to admit that he was doing a pretty fantastic job at catching the target's attention. The large pale lion had managed to get himself into position during the ploy, just in enough time to swivel his ears forward and catch the words spew from the lioness' lips. How very quaint. "Certainly not him", Don agreed aloud, right before he lunged from his hidden position behind her, aiming to tackle her to the ground and pin her with his weight. Don wasn't all too worried about her getting away from his lunge, as he had Galning positioned perfectly to catch her if she did. My, oh my, what trouble she'd found.  

[Princess_Feylin]

Joya

"Hijo de puta!" Joya exclaimed, borrowing a phrase she'd learned from her father. She didn't know exactly what it meant, but she knew it was an expression of extreme frustration. There were two of them, and clearly the one with the white mane wasn't the one she ought to worry about.

Too startled by being attacked unexpectedly, Joya did not think about her next action. She merely reacted, jumping forward in the hope that she would be able to push her way past the first lion. Screaming Vengeance or whatever he'd called himself. He hadn't seemed like a quick thinker. Maybe he wasn't very fast on his feet, either. She certainly hoped he wasn't as she made to flee in his direction.

Galning

Galning couldn't help smirking when Don made his appearance. It had been very dramatic timing. Being amused did not stop him from moving to intercept her attempted flight, however, and when he wanted to be, Galning was very fast. It came from the ability to completely divorce his brain from his body and just move. Some people said that wasn't a useful skill, and sometimes his mouth did run away with him, but at times like this, well. Who was stupid now?

He was already where the lioness wanted to be by the time she got there, three paws braced and the fourth raised to deal her a sharp blow to the head. The aim was off, so he didn't knock her out, but she was definitely on her butt and stunned. That would do for the time being. At least until Don decided whether they were going to kill her or just subdue her.

"Shall I kill her?" he asked, hoping the answer would be no. He still didn't like to hurt girls when it came right down to it. His mother had been a girl after all.

Jovi of Shadows

Oh, geez. I just now saw your sig. I have them turned off in the forums so I forget things like you're getting married. -headdesk- I apologize. Please, please don't stress yourself over pixel lions.

 

[Jovi of Shadows]

Princess_Feylin

((Lolz, don't worry, I need the escape from planning and in-laws every once in a while. Plus, I've had this RP on my mind for some time now. <3))

Being denied his quarry and his paws merely hitting dirt was disappointing, but he was quick to keep his focus just long enough to see Galning take her out. Don approved, it would save them the trouble of chasing her down before she went too deep into pirate territory. Gathering himself back from his failed lunge, Don glanced briefly to Galning, considering this option. Eventually, almost reluctantly, he replied, "No. She might have useful information for us," as if on some sort of cue he whipped around to deliver a flat palmed smack to the stunned lioness, once more aiming to knock her off her paws in a position more easily managed.

"And if she doesn't", he moved to half circle her, lips curling into a cruel twist of a snarl, "Then we kill her." He was behind her now, out of her line of sight, however blurry or weary it might be from the blows, so he gave Galning a quirk of his brow and a smirk. Now came the delicate part of this operation, extracting information on their target, and he needed Galning to play along. Of course, there was the 'just kill her option', and Don was in no way hesitant to do so if she proved useless. He stopped his circling to stand directly in front of her, claws sliding slowly out to scrape on the hard earth by her nose. "Perhaps, a little incentive to loosen her tongue?" Not that he'd asked any questions yet, but he wanted her good and terrified first.  

[Princess_Feylin]

Galning

"Suit yourself," Galning agreed with a shrug.

Once Don had knocked her off her feet he positioned himself so that he more or less pinned the lioness. If she was particularly flexible she might be able to get in a bite, but his mane would protect him from the worst of it, he figured. It wasn't easy to do anything with a heavier lion lying across your shoulders. Not unless you had the strength to throw him off, which Galning didn't think the red lioness did.

"I could incentivize her, if you know what I mean," Galning offered, putting a certain salaciousness in his tone. He would do nothing of the sort, but she couldn't see him. Her eyes were focused on Don, which was probably for the best anyway. "Be happy to, really. It's been a long time."

Joya

Joya growled low in her throat, snarling when she was struck and maintaining the growl as the lighter lion circled her. She was too proud to watch him as he stepped out of her line of sight, but once he was in front of her again she could not help but stare at him. He looked familiar, and yet not like he was one of her father's pride.

"You two have no idea who you're dealing with," she warned them. "My brother will kill you if you harm me. My father will come after you with every crew in the Maestros del Mar. You will never find peace on land or at sea. It'd be wise of you to let me go."

Jovi of Shadows

If you say so.

 

[Jovi of Shadows]

Don was pleased with how well Galning was playing off his cues, and perhaps that alone had won him a little bit of the golden lion's respect. He'd have to consider it at a later time though, as his attention needed to be focused on their target. It was a good thing he did, the words that slipped past her tongue were absolutely delicious, perfect fuel for this interrogation of an encounter. "A filthy pirate b***h, are you?" he scowled, but the twisted snarl of a grin remained plastered onto his maw. He took upon himself to take a very prolonged glance at her, his grin forming more of a disappointed 'tsk-tsk' expression. All very visible to her of course, as Don did not bother hiding it. "I wouldn't if I were you, Buddy. Pirates aren't a very clean lot, and she's probably wider than the damn sea is deep by now." He stopped suddenly, smacking the dirt right in front of her nose with claws outstretched, very likely to have nearly sliced it open. His expression could be described as morbidly excited now, balancing every so slightly on creepy.

"I've got an idea. Hold still, pirate wench." Don moved to her side then, her view of him hidden by Galning as the other Stormborn lay across her. He lifted a large paw and placed it directly on the middle of her gut, letting her feel its full weight as his claws slipped in and out of their sheathes. "I could just make a new one, right here", he mused aloud, pushing the tips of his nails firmer into her belly, threatening to break skin. "There is, perhaps, one teensy, tiny little thing you could help us with, of course", he offered almost playfully before his voice grew cold and thick. "Who is your father?" It was perhaps a strange thing to ask, but Don had a suspicion based on the threats she was making. The wheels in his mind were certainly turning.

"Answer correctly, harlot, this is a very delicate procedure and I wouldn't want my claws to 'spill your guts', so to speak." He didn't have any intention of actually killing her just yet, but it wouldn't take much resisting before Don started making good on these promises to slice her open.

Princess_Feylin

Ah, married and settled into a new apartment. I can finally get back into RP!

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Joya

Joya was afraid, and she hated that she was afraid. It was a fairly new feeling for her, and she didn't like it. What these lions were threatening, she didn't know if she would not actually prefer death. No. If they did as they threatened, Joya knew she wanted to live so that she could see them dead. Teech would take care of that, and even her father, who was so cowardly about moving against enemies, would be forced to seek vengeance. Hers might be a meaningful death.

Even as these bloody thoughts raced through her mind, though, Joya found herself carefully drawing breath to answer the golden lion's question: "My father is Pirato'Alto, the pirate king and leader of the Maestros del Mar. But, really, you should be more afraid of my brother. Whatever you do to me, he will replicate on your sorry hides, and worse. In the end, you will be flayed and staked out for the crabs."

Maybe they just wanted to ransom her, she thought after she had made her threats. So she lied, knowing for a fact that if these two actually demanded a ransom for her, her brother would torture them until they told him where she was, then kill them. "If I am returned unharmed, I imagine you might receive some bounty."

Galning

It had not really occurred to Galning that he might be sitting on the daughter of the pirate king, but listening to her reply, Galning had an idea that he wasn't sure how to communicate to Don without alerting their captured prey to his thoughts. Ultimately he decided to just go ahead and say it. It would probably sound pretty cryptic to a lioness who didn't know about Ru's quest anyway.

"So, you'd be one of the pirate king's treasures. Kind of like a jewel or something, being his daughter and all?" He sent Don a significant look laced with query. Maybe they wouldn't have to return to the pirates' pride and have another go at finding and stealing from their treasure trove.

They had already taken a lion with cloud markings to be a piece of the sky. Maybe this lioness could be considered fulfillment of Aesir's requirement. He really wanted to have confirmation from Don on that reasoning, though, because he wasn't sure if that would count. She wasn't really a jewel, except maybe figuratively speaking. But then, that other lion only had celestial markings, so he could be pushing it a bit, too.

Jovi of Shadows

Oh, wow. I burst out laughing reading Don's post. Good to have you back.

 

[Jovi of Shadows]

Princess_Feylin

^^ I'm glad! I had a lot of fun channeling B-movie villains for that post.

It was almost cute that she continued to make threats against them in such a position, but alas she did give him what he had asked for. The fact that she'd confirmed his suspicion was quite wonderful, though his claws still scraped against the skin of her belly as he flexed them almost reflexively in thought. "I invite them to try, I've always thought pain should be a family activity", he mused half-heatedly, a small sense of amusement lacing his voice.

Ultimately is Galning that drew his attention away from his planning, and the golden lion listened with intent interest. Ah, clever! Don returned the look from his comrade with a smirk and subtle nod of his head. To be honest he was surprised Galning would have drawn such a conclusion, having known him for a time to be something of a buffoon. Perhaps there was potential beyond his bezerking skill; hmm, he'd have to mention this to Ru upon their return. "Well, my pretty little jewel, it seems our time together is going to be longer than expected", he told her, rising slowly to stretch out his limbs and yawn. Clearly unbothered by her threats. "I can't promise you'll be comfortable", he said as he shook out his mane and casually stepped up to her head again. "But a pirate's wench like you, should be right at home," he informed her, raising a heavy paw with the intention of knocking her out.  

[Princess_Feylin]

Joya

Joya had absolutely no idea what the two lions were talking about now that they had begun to fixate on her father and treasure, because although a ransom demand would make perfect sense in this situation, she was almost positive that was not what they were talking about. Thus, she was confused, and she didn't like to be confused.

She was about to snarl a remark at the golden lion about where he could shove his hopes when a solid blow from his paw felled her and she slipped into unconsciousness, going limp almost immediately. She didn't even have time to leave some sort of mark or sign for her brother.

Galning

"Nice," he remarked appreciatively.

With the lioness unconscious Galning stepped off of her and regarded Don for a moment before deciding that there was almost no way Don would be carrying this lioness. Leaders, in his experience, didn't go in for heavy lifting if there were underlings that could be made to do it, and Don had been named the leader of their two-lion mission.

"I'll just carry her back then, shall I?" he asked to confirm his suspicions.

It would be easier if they could bind her somehow, or at least gag her, but he could work around that. Just as long as she didn't regain consciousness while he was carrying her, everything would be fine. Having a suddenly conscious and angry lioness slung across his shoulders would be something other than fine.

Jovi of Shadows

Fin?

 

[Jovi of Shadows]

Princess_Feylin

Fin! <3

Good, she went out quickly enough, which meant he wouldn't have to hit her again. Not that he minded, but it would have been a waste of time, and she might have screamed. The large male now turned his attention completely on Galning, feeling this mission was accomplished before it even began. It was a shame they wouldn't get to rip into any of the mangy hides of those pirates, but it was more important to succeed in their quest. "Yah", he confirmed, moving to help position the unconscious female for Galning.

"Take her out of the territory and towards the stronghold we're suppose to be meeting up at", he continued, gripping the scruff of her neck to help lift her. From between his teeth he spoke, "I'll meet back up with ya as soon as I find something suitable to bind her with." Like Galning, he wasn't keen on having an angry lioness on the loose, able to wake up at any moment and possibly escaping.

"Shouldn't be long", he finished, noting the vegetation in the area. It would be safer to get Galning out first while the lioness was unconcious, it would allow Don to be stealthy in and around pirate territory until he found vines or discarded ropes.